The Legend of Spyro: Asgard Chronicles (Redux)
by clandestinewubs
Summary: As Spyro and Cynder relax in the peaceful valley of Avalar, convinced that the Dark Dragon Malefor is dead, their counterparts in a parallel universe are getting a rude wake-up call that not all is as peaceful as the dragons have assumed.
1. Cynder's Recovery

The Legond of Spyro: Asgard Chronicles (Redux) – Part 1 – Drem (Peace) for Dragons, Hell for Humans

Chapter One: Cynder's Recovery

Vespera Dimension

-Dragon Temple; Cynder's Room-

Cynder awoke to the sun's warm rays shining through her window. She gave a slight yawn as she stood up, extending her forepaws in front of her. A happy little sigh escaped her as the joints popped, and she did the same with her hindlegs.

The dragoness stood up, shaking her head to dispel the sleepiness still clouding her mind. It had been a few months since the battle with Malefor, and she was now residing in the Dragon Temple. Granted, her room wasn't very extravagant, and off the beaten path, so to say, but she was still amongst dragons who, not a few months ago, she would have killed without a second thought.

She shook her head violently, nearly knocking herself off balance. Those days were over now, thanks to Spyro. He had broken the enchantment on her and together, they had saved all of Avalar when she added her power to his.

Thankfully, in the Guardian's eyes, this seemed to absolve her of her sins while under Malefor's control. Unfortunately, not everyone saw it this way, though that was to be expected. She was often referred to as a 'beast', or 'the dark one'; something that wouldn't have really annoyed her if it didn't happen so often.

She couldn't blame them, though. She, herself, would be very hard pressed to trust someone in her own position. Yet Spyro did, and though everyone revered him as a savior, not everyone heeded his words when he said Cynder was no longer under Malefor's control.

She gave another sigh. Thinking of the purple dragon made her realize that she hadn't actually seen much of him since they saved Avalar. She hadn't been able to properly thank him for saving her from Malefor, though she had confessed her love for him. She blushed, remembering what she thought would be her final words. 'Does that count as a thank you?'

She shook her head for the third time that morning and went over her appearance in the mirror in her room. Deeming her scales as having a healthy shine, she turned to the door and took a deep breath, mentally prepping herself.

"Okay! Time to give my thanks."

-Twenty minutes earlier; Spyro's room-

Spyro was pacing around his room, a distressed look on his face. Each time he passed the window, his scales reflected the light all along the wall in strange patterns, and while normally this would relax him, it did nothing for his mood at present.

He had been avoiding Cynder ever since he did what he did. Not for the fact that he didn't like the dragoness; the complete opposite was true. He loved her, and Cynder knew that.

But none of the other dragons and dragoness' in the temple knew it, and if it was revealed, they would both probably be hazed to extremes. Himself for loving the dragoness what nearly destroyed them, and Cynder, well, they'd probably assume she put him under some sort of spell. He let out a heavy sigh. The dragons in the temple were extremely suspicious of the dragoness, and it was absolutely ridiculous.

He also couldn't get near Cynder because of Ember. The pink dragoness somehow always knew when he was going to Cynder's room, and would always follow him, no matter what he said. It was like the word 'no' didn't exist to her.

The purple dragon sighed again. Thinking of Ember and the other dragons reminded him that Cynder was still thought to be evil by a lot of them. The Guardians had clarified that she was free of any kind of possession when they arrived at the Dragon Temple, but the suspicious never listen to reason.

He looked to the door, remembering that fateful fight. He hadn't been nearly as powerful on his own. If it weren't for Cynder's help, Malefor would've won, yet only Spyro was branded a savior. He stomped his left hindleg in anger. It wasn't fair that she was still branded as such.

Spyro left his room with a snort, closing the door with his tail. If he was going to be able to talk to Cynder, he might as well go to her room before many more dragons woke up. Hopefully Ember wouldn't get in his way today, as she usually does.

It took him a few minutes to fly to her room, as it was further away than most of the other dragons resided. Then again, it suited her, as she had been sort of a recluse lately.

When he reached the ornamental wood and iron door to Cynder's room, he stopped, his front paw raised to knock. What exactly was he going to say to her? 'Well, I haven't thanked her for her help against Malefor yet.' As he continued to think, he lowered his paw and started walking away. 'It'd probably be better for someone to see me thanking her, too.'

-Cynder-

It had taken her a few moments to prepare herself to go to Spyro's room today, but when she felt she was ready, she opened her door slowly. Looking around, she saw a familiar purple tail round the corner. She mentally kicked herself for not leaving earlier as she followed him, turning the same corner to find that she was at an intersection that had even more corners. She let out a soft gasp; she had lost him already. Grumbling to herself about the layout of this particular wing of the Temple, she started to sniff the air, searching for his scent. It proved to be unnecessary, as she heard him from the hallway to her right.

"-aid I'm not interested in you," he said, sounding slightly distressed. Cynder followed his voice until she saw him with a dragoness plastered to his side, twirling her tail with his.

"And I told you I don't care~" the infuriatingly pink dragoness replied with a bit of a tune in her voice, completely ignoring Spyro's expression of discomfort. There were a lot of things that that dragoness was, and none of them were 'polite' or 'tactful'.

Spyro forced himself away from Ember, setting into a partial stance in case she decided to get clingy again. "Leave me alone, would you? It's too early for this." He shook his head. "Can't you go bother flame?"

Ember started circling him as if she were a bird of prey. "I can't. He's asleep~" She still had the sing-songy tone in her voice. "And besides, I'd rather spend time with you~" she giggled, gently rubbing the underside of his jaw with her tail.

That was enough for Cynder. She stepped forward, clearing her throat as Spyro bat away the pink tail. Ember's smile dropped in an instant, her bared fangs replacing it. "Oh, so the little beast makes an appearance…" Her voice was practically dripping with venom.

Cynder chose to ignore her, as they had already gotten into a fight a few days ago, and she didn't feel like having the Guardians called again. Even without Ignitus, they were incredibly intimidating.

Instead, she turned to Spyro, greeting him calmly, even though her heart was beating incredibly fast. "Hello, Spyro."

Ember didn't take well to being ignored, and she lunged at Cynder, growling at her. Spyro had anticipated the adverse reaction and thrust his tail between them, glaring at the pink dragoness. "Ember, you are not to attack her," he said forcefully, but there was a waver in his voice. He wasn't used to giving direct orders like that.

She scoffed, giving Cynder a very mean look before turning and flying away. Cynder let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Th-thank you…"

Spyro looked to her. He was slightly taller than she was, so he had to look down to meet her eyes. "It's nothing. I just wish she'd understand that you're not what Malefor made you to be… Not anymore."

Cynder blinked a couple of times before looking away. "Um, about that…"

"What is it, Cynder?"

"I…want to thank you for releasing me from Malefor's control… I would've lost who I was if you hadn't done so." She rubbed her left foreleg with a paw, giving a soft sigh as she finally thanked him.

Spyro shook his head, giving a soft laugh. "I should be the one thanking you. Without your help, we…everyone…would have died. So, thank you, Cynder, for everything."

Cynder felt her face grow hot, and suddenly she found it much harder to look Spyro in the eyes. "Ah… thank you…"

"Oh, by the way, where were you heading?" Spyro asked, changing the sunject smoothly.

Cynder cocked her head to the side for a moment, as if remembering her plans. "Uhh, I was going to the training room. I got a little confused though," she lied through her teeth, chuckling nervously.

The purple dragon let out a healthy laugh. "Yeah, this wing has a lot of twists and turns. Really unnecessary if you ask me." He thought for a moment before clicking a talon on the floor. "Hey, would you like me to walk you there? I was planning on going there anyways."

Cynder nodded vehemently. "I would love that." It took her a few seconds to realize that she accepted his offer far too eagerly, and she groaned internally. 'I am such an idiot.'

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

 _Please keep in mind that this is not an original work. The original is s/5833480/1/The-Legend-of-Spyro-Asgard-Chronicles . I have merely been given permission to 'rewrite' it, as it were. Many thanks to Lumen Infinitum for allowing me to do so, as this is probably my most favorite Spyro fanfiction on the site._


	2. The Dragons' Human Counterparts

-February 11; Downtown Riven, Asgard Dimension-

-Light's room-

Have you ever read The Golden Compass'? If not, then you should know about the possibility of multiple universes. They are side-by-side, perhaps even an inch away from you, but they can't be seen or touched; they're completely intangible.

The Dragon's world, Avalar, exists in the Vespera dimension. However, each dimension, each world, has a counterpart. Vespera's (and Avalar's) counterpart is called the Asgard dimension, with Earth being Avalar's counterpart. Fundamentally, it's the same as the world you currently reside in. Similar technology, similar history, even similar petty crimes. Although, there's one difference that sets Asgard apart from our dimension, and that's the fact that there quite a large amount of paranormal and odd activity that happens in this dimension.

Times and seasons are usually reversed in counterpart dimensions as well. If it's a crisp winter morning in one dimension, the other will be in the midst of a cozy summer night.

Oh, before I forget, just as the dimensions are counterparts, a large amount of inhabitants have counters as well. Spyro and Cynder are among those that do, even if they don't know it.

Light Oshodi, a eighteen year old human with stark white hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and a fondness for black clothing is Spyro's counterpart. Similarly to the purple dragon, Light has a great sense of right and wrong, and acts upon his judgement accordingly. People also treat him with respect.

Unlike Spyro, Light is not a hero. He's just a teen trying to live as normal a life as he can, something made difficult when taking into consideration that he is a psionic. He can generate and control fire and electricity.

Their personalities vary rather sharply as well. While Spyro is kind, and would gently persuade someone he is interrogating, Light is the opposite; brash and liable to get information from knifepoint.

Cynder's counter is Natalie Cyrus, a sixteen year old human girl with jet black hair, green eyes, pale skin, and a black and red ensemble she's almost never seen without; a black jacket with a red tee-shirt.

Similarly to Light, she's a strong, steadfast girl who's trying to live a normal life, but seeing as she is a psychic as well, it makes things difficult. Especially when people are afraid of her because of her power.

The best way to describe her power would be to call it a 'force bomb,' or something of the like. She is able to take large amounts of energy, condense it into a small space, and release it, resulting in explosions varying from an M80 firecracker to an atomic bomb (thankfully without the dangers of radiation). Normally, she can keep it under control perfectly fine, but if she gets worked up enough, things around her have a tendency to explode; prime example being two years ago, when she accidentally destroyed the upper half of a skyscraper after being startled rather badly.

In any case, around two hours before Spyro and Cynder were debating to themselves on how to confront one another, Light was in his room in a small city house in downtown Riven, playing his guitar.

He should've been getting ready for bed, but like all teens, there's that subconscious refusal to do what he's told, so he was playing a few songs on his guitar to get rid of the day's stress. He stopped as flashing lights and sirens passed by his window, and he sighed, putting the guitar on its stand by the window.

He looked outside, cracking open his window to allow the crisp night air to wash over him before turning to sit at his desk, going about his nightly routine. Casually flicking on the police scanner on his desk, he sat back in a comfortable chair to listen to it. Lately, there's been a lot more crime than normal, so the police have been getting overwhelmed with the amount of it all. After one of Light's friends was attacked, he developed a personal vendetta against lawbreakers, and he helps out whenever possible, usually having to sneak out in the dead of night to do so. The only one who knew about it was Natalie, who lives next door.

The scanner was silent as he switched between channels. Frowning, Light checked the wires, making sure everything was connected properly. Usually the CV was blaring on multiple channels, but tonight there was nothing. He flicked it off, groaning and leaning back in his chair, causing it to spin slightly and face the wall. Tacked there was a poster stating the reward for the capture (or killing) of one of this town's many crime bosses, Cauldur Vendetta. He was responsible for the murder of several high ranking military officials, multiple counts of theft from military labs, kidnapping, participating in a world-wide crime ring, etc.

Light grimaced as he looked at the poster, slipping the amethyst bracelet he got from his mother onto his wrist. The paragraph on the poster listed off hundreds of crimes, but Light didn't really care about any of them. He wanted to enact revenge on Cauldur for taking Natalie's parents from her.

He growled to himself, punching his desk as he stood up. The damned man was always reported in the news; always robbing military bases or college labs, constantly taking scientific equipment for who knows what reason. One of the things always missing the day after is Uranium. Cauldur now has an ungodly amount of uranium, but for what reason? It's not like he was one of those people that would make a nuclear bomb out of it. That was risky; Cauldur was many things, but a risk taker was not one of them.

Light looked outside again, clenching the windowsill tightly. He had a hunch that the pasty-faced crime lord was in Riven. It was just a matter of where. Where was there a location to hide metric tons of pilfered scientific material and weapons?

His eyes swept across the city horizon, one part in particular standing out to him, remembering a news report from a few weeks ago. There'd been reports of an unusually large amount of people at one of the old abandoned factory complexes across town. Light slapped his forehead in realization.

He looked to his right, to Natalie's house. He crumpled a piece of paper into a tight ball, tossing it at her window. It took her a few moments to open it. "Light? What's going on? It's like nine o'clock.

"Are you busy, Natalie?" Light asked, waving his hand idly.

"Does playing 'Advanced Wars: Days of Ruin' count?"

Light rolled his eyes at the snarky response. Naturally, she'd be playing her favorite game. "Forget I asked." He looked at her again. "I think I know where Cauldur is."

For a moment, Natalie was silent. "HOLY SHIT, ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

Light winced, both at the sudden increase in volume and her foul language. "Does Tim know you swear?"

"Pfft, like it matters," she chuckled, to Light's dismay. "Where is he? We should go there, now!"

Light shook his head. "I think he's at a factory on Mount Storm, about three hours away." He ignored Natalie's groan. "There's no way Tim would be alright with you leaving, is there?"

She looked behind her, smiling to herself. "Nah, he's been asleep since six, the old buzzard. I'm fine." She looked to Light, raising her hand to cut him off as he opened his mouth. "I know you're gonna say it's dangerous. I don't care; we're going." As if to solidify her point, she shut her window.

Light groaned in exasperation before doing the same and going back to his desk. There was a small keypad on the underside of the largest drawer, and he quickly input the password, sliding it open.

Inside was a gun-case with two guns, a weapon sling, and a belt-mounted holster. After slipping on the sling and holster, he opened the case, taking out the UMP that was inside. After checking it over to make sure it was still working properly, he slid a magazine into it and gave it a home on his belt. He reached into the case again, pulling out the M16A4 assault rifle and giving it the same lookover he gave to the SMG. He attached the sling to gun and stood up, slamming a magazine home into the weapon.

He looked back to the box, his licenses for both weapons resting there. He sighed, closing the box and putting his coat on before leaving his house through the garage. He smiled as he looked at his motorcycle, a black and red electric Kawasaki racing model. He had saved up a lot of money doing odd jobs around the town to get it tuned to his liking, and he treated it extremely well.

Opening the garage, he wasn't surprised to see Natalie waiting for him with her helmet, chuckling as he walked the vehicle into the driveway. "How long d'you think it'll take us to get there?" she asked as he straddled the motorcycle.

It roared to life as he turned the ignition, purring underneath him. "About an hour and a half, give or take a few minutes. Hop on." He put on his helmet as she got on the motorcycle, holding onto him tightly as he turned onto the street, ramming on the throttle.

* * *

 _Author's Note: This chapter will most likely be rewritten, as I really did not like how I wrote the introductions (Including Cauldur's "introduction"); it feels as if there are things that are missing, and I feel like their psionics were described horribly._

 _I've a feeling that, starting next chapter (especially chapter 4) things will start to stray from the original fanfiction. I apologize if this is not to your liking, but it is necessary to rectify the errors that were made. That, and I've got to compensate for the addition to backstory Luxem gave me._


	3. New Guardian, Old Fight

-Vespera: Dragon Temple; Training Room Corridor-

The black dragoness walked alongside Spyro as they traversed the hallways, the purple dragon seeming to know exactly where he was going. As they walked, Spyro attempted to make some casual conversation.

"It's been a while since the battle with Malefor," he said, turning his head to her. "Think you're at full strength again?"

Cynder shook her head sadly. "I most likely am, but it feels as if I'm not, like I'm missing the strength _he_ gave me."

Spyro chuckled, tapping her side with the tip of his wing. "To be fair, you are plenty strong if you were able to break his hold on you."

To her dismay, Cynder could feel her cheeks reddening at the praise. Embarrassed, she turned her head, something that Spyro didn't fail to see, as notified by his soft chuckle. "In any case, you're healthy, right? Your scales seem really bright as of late."

She nodded as they turned a corner, the large, ornamental doors of the training room greeting the pair. She looked up at them, trying to remember when she had been in there last, her embarrassment momentarily forgotten. "I always get lost when I try to come here. Why are these hallways so big and confusing?"

Spyro gave a heavy sigh as they came to a stop in front of the doors, one that made Cynder lower her tail; it seemed filled with so much sadness. "Ignitus told me that before I came here, these halls used to be filled with dragons of all colors and sizes, from all over the world. Malefor came and went, and many dragons were lost in the resulting war." He shook his head slowly. "The prophecy of the purple dragon… It took many brave dragons from us before they were supposed to go."

Cynder was looking at her paws. She could tell by Spyro's voice that he was attempting to hold back tears, and not succeeding. "Spyro, I'm sorry about…about Ignitus," she said softly, ruffling her wings. "He should be here now, not me."

Spyro raised a paw and thumped the black dragoness on the forehead, making her recoil and give a surprised squeak. She looked up at him to see him looking at her with a smile, shaking his head, obvious lines of moisture on his cheeks. "None of that, Cyn. You know damn well that Ignitus sacrificed himself so _both_ of us could survive. He wouldn't want us questioning his decision, no matter how much it hurts us." He raised a paw to wipe away the trails left by his tears.

Cynder looked up at Spyro, her eyes threatening to well up with tears. "Spyro, thank…thank you so much for believing in me. For not letting me lose myself again." She felt Spyro's paw on her head again, this time giving a comforting pat.

"No thanks are necessary." He jerked his head towards the training room door. "Now then, shall we halt the waterworks and do what we came here for?" Cynder could only give a soft chuckle as she nodded.

Spyro pushed the door open with his shoulder, the large doors having somewhat damaged hinges after being used for so long. Inside were two dragons he wouldn't have expected to see this early in the day; Cyril, the Guardian, and Flame, his best friend. Spyro waved at them with a wing as Cynder followed him into the room. "Hello Cyril, Flame. What brings you here so early in the morning?"

The two dragons turned to Spyro as he spoke, Flame smiling broadly at his friend, Cyril giving a nod of acknowledgment to Cynder, which she returned immediately, perhaps far too quickly. "Hey, Spyro, Cynder, what's going on? You two up here for some early morning training?"

Spyro chuckled, shaking his head. "Must you always answer my questions with more questions, Flame?" he asked, to which the slightly larger red dragon nodded vehemently. "Of course you must, though if I answer your question, you answer mine; you know how that goes."

Flame looked to Cyril, his expression changing for a moment. The Guardian gave a nod, and he turned back to Spyro with another smile. "Alright, you got a deal."

Spyro rolled his eyes, shaking his head and rolling his eyes in mock annoyance. "Well, to answer your question, yes, we're up early to train. It's been a while since I've had a _worthy_ opponent, after all," he chuckled, giving Flame a wink to signify he was joking, as Flame was his normal training partner.

Flame, for his part, played along, turning up his nose and stamping a foreleg indignantly. "Well, I never!" he snorted, holding the pose for a few moments before breaking out into laughter. Spyro quickly followed suit, and the sound of the purple dragon's laughter calmed Cynder slightly; she started smiling as well. Even Cyril's normally stoic expression showed signs of wavering.

After a few minutes, their mirth was expended, and Flame had to wipe at his eyes to clear the tears of laughter that had formed. "You answered my question, so I answer yours, yes?" Spyro nodded at him. "Right, then. Cyril was testing me, seeing how I react to high-level Ice attacks."

Spyro cocked his head to the side. "Sounds pretty vigorous. May I ask why so?" The question was directed to Cyril, who nodded.

"Volteer, Terrador, and I feel that there must be a new Fire element Guardian." He nodded his head towards the red dragon. "Flame is not only the best candidate, but he has also passed both of the other Guardian's tests. We were about to begin the final part of my own test when you two entered."

"Can we watch," Cynder asked, her curiosity piqued. She had seen the Ice dragon fight before, but was never able to really focus on him, as she and Spyro were always locked in their own battles.

The blue dragon nodded, a soft smile crossing his features. "Of course you may, though I suggest backing away. The cold can be rather…unpredictable." Spyro nodded in understanding as the two younger dragons backed up to the door, the Guardian and Guardian-in-training taking to the air with strong beats of their wings.

As Cyril started telling Flame the rules of the duel, Spyro leaned close to Cynder with a smirk on his face. "So, who do you think is gonna win?"

She chuckled and looked at her purple friend. "Ice against Fire? Flame melts the ice, it becomes water, making his elemental attacks weaker. That, and Cyril has years of training on Flame. It's no contest."

Spyro shrugged, looking up at the two, who were now flying to opposite ends of the room. "Well, Cyril said Flame's already passed Volteer and Terrador's tests. I gotta believe in him."

Cynder gave a slight shrug, focusing on the two in the air.

"Flame, are you ready?" Cyril called across the room, to which Flame nodded. "Right, then. We begin now!"

Flame pushed forward at the same time Cyril flew upward, the blue dragon's mouth open and trailing a translucent blue wisp behind him. As Flame drew close, Cyril pushed himself into a forward flip, breathing outward, the ice breath expanding and forming a cocoon around him in a similar manner to Terrador's Earth sphere. He plummeted down towards the fire dragon, who barely dodged the unexpected tactic with an instinctive roll. Flame followed the sphere with his eyes, watching as it shattered just before hitting the floor, dodging the pieces that flew back up.

"I'm glad that you could avoid that on such short notice," the Ice Guardian called, looking up at Flame from the ground. "Now then, it is your turn."

Spyro looked confused, and he leaned close to Cynder again. "They're taking turns?"

Cynder gave a soft laugh as Flame rose up into the air, flying toward the glass dome in the center of the roof. "I believe they're doing a one-touch element duel. The first dragon to land a blow with an elemental attack is the victor." She pointed upwards as Flame stalled in the air, flipping backwards into a controlled dive, a soft yellow-orange line trailing from the tip of his tail. "What is he doing? His dive isn't anywhere close to where Cyril is."

Spyro looked up at his friend, scrunching his eyes in concentration, focusing on the dragon's tailtip. "I…don't know. Cynder, you don't think he knows how to use his element with other parts of his body, do you?"

"Isn't that a really risky technique though? It takes up a lot of mana to do that, right?"

Spyro just nodded, watching as the yellow-orange line turned into a bright red flame. About twenty feet above the ground, Flame pulled out of the dive, swinging his tail to the side, sending five fiery projectiles at the ice dragon. Cyril's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth, sending an ice bolt bat three of the fireballs. He jumped back to avoid the fourth, but the fifth curved and hit him directly between the wings, sending the Guardian back to the ground and knocking the wind out of him.

Flame landed next to Cyril, looking fairly winded himself. He offered a paw to the fallen dragon, who accepted it, and helped him upright. Spyro and Cynder ran up to them, both of them in awe.

"Flame," Spyro started, a hint of incredulous laughter in his voice, "that was absolutely incredible. You've got to teach me how to do that."

Cynder nodded in agreement, then turned to Cyril. "Did he pass your test," she asked, obviously excited for the fire dragon.

Cyril gave a cough, smiling broadly. "Considering that the only dragons I've seen with the ability to use their body as spell conduits are Ignitus, Volteer, Terrador, and myself, and his having won our duel… Yes, I'd say he passed with flying colors."

All three of the other dragons gave a sort of celebratory exclamation. Cyril chuckled at them and turned to Flame. "I'll talk with the others; we will attempt to hold your official coronation in one week's time."

Flame gave a groan. It was widely known that he wasn't the most adept at social climates, but he knew he'd have to bite his tongue this time. Guardian coronations were a huge honor and were incredibly rare, especially for the Fire mantle. He gave a nod to Cyril, and the blue dragon nodded back before leaving the training hall.

When the door closed again, he turned to Cynder. "I'm sure you haven't received any recognition for what you've done, so allow me to rectify that," he said, speaking in a much more formal tone than he normally did. He lowered his body, kneeling onto one of his forelegs as he bowed his head. "Thank you, Cynder, for your help in vanquishing the dark dragon, Malefor."

Both of the younger dragons were looking at him in confusion, Spyro at the change of attitude, and Cynder at the sudden thanks.

She cleared her throat, giving a soft chuckle. "Well, there's no need to be so formal about it; I did what anyone would have done in my place."

Flame stood up, smiling sheepishly. "I know, I know. I just want to apologize for the other dragons' actions. I know none of them have properly thanked you, so I wanted to make up for it."

Cynder smiled at him, shaking her head. "There wasn't any need, but thank you for doing so."

The red dragon nodded, raising a wing, waving it in farewell. "See you too at lunch, then!" he said, leaving the two alone in the training hall.

Spyro gave a little chuckle. "Well, you can't say he doesn't care for his friends, hmm?" Cynder shook her head, her smile growing a bit wider as she realized she had friends in the Temple. "In any case, you wanna spar?" he asked, giving a few short hops.

Cynder nodded and settled into a casual stance. "Ready when you are, Oh Glorious Savior."

-23:19-

-Asgard: One Mile from Daylight Automotive Factory-

Light slid to a halt on the gravel road leading up to the abandoned Automotive factory. Natalie jumped off, stretching her legs for a moment.

"Ohh, I _hate_ sitting in one way for so long," she groaned, popping her back. Light rolled his eyes at her, reaching into the hidden compartment under the seat to grab the two shortwave radios and bike cover he kept there. He tossed one of the radios to Natalie and clipped his to his pants before covering up the motorcycle with the woodland tarp.

"Are you sure Cauldur is here, Light?" Natalie asked in a worried tone, pulling her Beretta 93R from its holster on her leg, making sure it was loaded and the safety was off. She'd rather not use it, but if the need arose, she would. She flipped it to semi-auto before putting it back in its holster.

"I'm sure," Light replied, pulling his M16 around and checking the breach. "It's the only place fortified and large enough to hide and protect all of the scientific gear he's nicked." He flicked the safety and made sure it was on burst fire. "You gonna come with?"

She shook her head, leaning against a tree. "Not right now, but I'll go in shortly. One of us has to be smart and do a bit of recon."

Light chuckled and gave her a small wave, taking off into the forest, making a beeline for the factory. He'd been here before, so he knew approximately where Cauldur would position his men.

He'd only been jogging for about three minutes when a gunshot rang and part of his coat was missing, as well as a sizable chunk of the tree to his left. He gave a heavy sigh and lifted his rifle. "Fuck me…"

-12:26-

-Vespera: Training Hall-

Cynder made another left-right swipe, which Spyro dodged by making a short jump backwards and ducking. He pushed forward on his hindlegs, sending her off balance with a shoulder to her chest. She flapped her wings twice, using a bit of Wind to help her into the air. Spyro followed her, his eyes widening as her course suddenly changed, sending her into him and knocking him out of the air. Seizing the opportunity, she dove down, pinning the larger dragon to the floor, her forelegs keeping his on the ground. He attempted to push her off with his hindlegs, but she pressed them down with her tail, smirking down a him.

"You, Oh Savior, have lost this battle," she chuckled.

Spyro smiled up at her, his tail waving back and forth. "It seems as if I have, dear dragoness," he said, playing along with her little act. "What dost thou intend to do with thine winnings?"

She giggled at Spyro's antics, bringing her tail upwards, pinning his hindlegs with hers as the flat of her tailblade tapped his chest. "I'm not exactly sure." Her paws started getting hot. "What would you suggest, Oh Savior?"

Spyro didn't answer. His face was set in a deep frown. Small wisps of fire were coming off of his body, as if a Fire spell was being cast from his chest. He attempted to contain it, closing his eyes a giving a soft growl, concentrating on the Ice element within him, but it was useless. The Fire element was out of control, and Cynder yelped in pain as her paws were suddenly scalded, as if she had stood on a bed of white-hot coals. She jumped away from the purple dragon, landing on her side when her paws refused to hold her weight.

* * *

 _Author's Note: (Yes, these will be at the end of each and every chapter)_

 _I'm know that the original fiction had more in-depth PoV's, but I'm not very comfortable with doing that; I can't seem to get comfortable with expressing a character's thoughts in writing (unless, of course, there's a telepath)._

 _It just seems as if it's something that shouldn't be encroached upon in this type of story, unless absolutely necessary (which I have yet to see, actually)_


	4. Amends

Spyro backed away from the black dragoness, his face filled with horror and regret. "C-Cynder… I'm so sorry…" he muttered softly, his body still giving off residual flames. Focusing his thoughts for a moment, he turned around and launched a stream of fire at a training dummy, exhausting his mana. "I didn't me-"

"Shut up!" She saw Spyro recoil, raising one leg as if to defend himself from her words. "What happened to 'sparring', huh? What happened to it being a friendly training session?" She'd never say it, but the elemental attack hurt far more than just her forepaws.

"Cynder, I-"

"Leave me alone…" she muttered, attempting to stand on just her hindlegs. She fell again, and when she looked back up, her eyes met Spyro's.

"You are one damn stubborn dragoness, you know that?" he said, sitting down in front of her. She didn't answer him, and made a point to avoid meeting his eyes. "I'd never do something like this on purpose, Cynder. I think it was a reflex. The Fire element started getting out of control, and I tried to focus on another one to stop it, but I couldn't." He was looking at the ground when Cynder turned her gaze to him again, his shoulders shaking. "I'm sorry, Cynder."

The black dragoness rolled her eyes, and she flapped one wing at him, using her Wind to knock him onto his side. He yelped, his legs and wings flailing about as he was suddenly pushed around. Cynder gave him a soft smile. "Payback, part one of five," she chuckled, shifting to sit up straighter.

"I can't wait for parts two through five," Spyro mumbled sarcastically, righting himself. He got up and flew to the wall next to the entrance, collecting a few bandages and some salve from the aid chest before flying back. "Lay on your side; let's get those front paws wrapped up a bit."

Cynder nodded, following the instruction. Spyro deftly cleaned the burned areas, using an odd mixture of Fire and Ice element magic to make a soft stream of water. After cleaning them, he carefully applied some of the salve to each paw. It smelled something fierce, but it was the best thing for an injury such as this. After that, he gently wrapped her paws in a double layer of bandages.

"There's a plant in that salve that'll numb your paws as it heals them. It'll last for about four hours, and feel weird for another three, but the burns should be fine by tonight." He looked down again, and Cynder brought her tail up to thump his head with the flat of the blade. Spyro looked at her in confusion as he rubbed his head.

Cynder shook her own head at him, waving her tail back and forth, as if he were a hatchling caught stealing from the snack cupboard. "Part two. Also, drop it. It was an accident; end of story." She looked into his eyes. "I can forgive an accident, Spyro, especially if you help me to my room. I overexerted my wings while sparring."

"Were you using Wind on your wings to change your direction that quickly?" he asked, kneeling down next to her. Cynder flapped her wings a few times to rise onto her hindlegs, stifling a groan of pain and shifting over to Spyro to lower onto his back. When she was properly situated, she answered.

"Yeah, I had the idea after seeing Flame do his tail thing, but it seems to have repercussions on the wings." Spyro rose to his paws, beginning the walk to her room. "By the way, you said you lost control of your Fire element? Why?"

Spyro shrugged, a motion made many times more difficult due to the dragoness on his back. "I don't know. I had intended to slip my tail under you as you were thinking of what to do, but then _that_ happened."

"Slip your tail under me? What were you intending to do?" she asked, her voice taking on a playful, teasing tone.

She could tell that got Spyro flustered, thinking about the implications of what he had just said, as his walking became a bit stiffer. "N-nothing inappropriate! I was just gonna use my tail to throw you off of me, then attempt to pin you as you did to me."

She gave a soft chuckle, relaxing as Spyro carried her to her room. For a few minutes, they were silent, Cynder enjoying the close proximity to the purple dragon. The situation made her frown as she remembered something, though. "Oh, right.. If someone were to see this, they'd have the wrong assumption," she muttered quietly, giving an equally soft sigh.

"Does it matter, Cynder?" Spyro asked, surprising the black dragoness. "They can think what they want, but it doesn't change the fact that you're no longer under control. It was a mistake on my part, nothing more."

Cynder gave a soft chuckle. For being a savior, Spyro could be surprisingly dense. They had reached her room by that time, anyhow. "Can you walk over to my bed? I'm feeling a bit tired." Spyro wordlessly followed the request, kneeling next to her bed to allow her to roll off. "Thank you, Spyro."

He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped and closed his mouth, nodding instead. "I'll be back in a few hours to check on your burns, alright?" His voice had taken an air of sadness, but Cynder nodded, so Spyro took it as his cue to leave.

When her door closed, Cynder smiled and lay her head onto her pillow. "Part three," she muttered, drifting to sleep.

Spyro walked out of her door, closing it softly. Lost in his own thoughts, he didn't realize he wasn't alone until his nose bumped against a bright pink hide. He jumped back as he heard Ember's unusually usual flirtatious giggle.

"Something on your mind, hero boy?~" she asked, her tailtip flicking through the air as she fixed him with an almost lecherous gaze.

Spyro idly shook his head. "Not really, no." He then took stock of the dragoness he was currently talking to, and his current location, giving a groan of annoyance he had grown all too used to using around the pink dragoness. "What are you doing here, Ember?"

She gave another giggle and shifted from foreleg to foreleg. "Oh, I could ask you the same question, my hero.~" She pressed herself up to Spyro's side, resting her tail on top of his.

He shoved her away as politely as he could, not that it really mattered; she went right back to the same position. "I was walking Cynder back from our sparring match in the Training Hall; making sure she's healthy and all that. Would you get _off_ of me already?" he asked as she twirled her tail around his. She made a faux pouting face, but did as she was told, for once. "Thank you… Now, what's your reasoning for being outside Cynder's room? You're not here to spy on her or anything, are you?" He sincerely hoped she wasn't.

Ember nodded vigorously, earning an exasperated sigh from the purple dragon, whose face was now in his paws. She looked at him curiously, her head cocked to the side. "What?"

"For, like, the fiftieth time, Ember," Spyro started, his words muffled due to his paws, "Cynder is no longer under control; Malefor is **dead**." He looked up a her, snapping his jaws at her with the last word. She recoiled, her expression mixing with fear for a moment before her annoyingly usual smile replaced it.

"Yes, but how are we to know that she's not evil, anyways? She could have some sort of plan going on~" She was smiling as if she was a detective on the verge of cracking a difficult case.

Spyro groaned and started walking past her. Predictably, she tailed him, but for once, it was to his benefit; he had to get her away from Cynder's room so she could get some rest. "Look, if she were still evil, the Guardians would've known about it," he said, speaking as he walked.

"Yeah, but wh-"

"If she were evil, Ignitus wouldn't have been willing to sacrifice himself to make sure she survived." Ember's tail drooped, nearly dragging to the ground. "Are you willing to insult Ignitus' judgement, Ember?" he asked, wheeling around to face the pink dragoness. His voice had changed slightly, but she could tell what it was; he was barely controlling his fury.

Ember looked away from Spyro's magenta eyes, unable to face the ferocity in his stare. "N-no, I'm not..."

Spyro blinked a few times, and shook his head. "Sorry… I lost myself a bit, there," he said, chuckling sheepishly. "What I said is still the truth. And Ember?" She looked up to him, meeting his eyes. "Don't go near Cynder again unless it's to apologize for your rudeness; do you understand?"

Ember nodded quickly, unable to find her voice. As Spyro turned back around, she found that she could speak again. "Spyro… I'm sorry…"

"It's not me you should be apologizing to, Ember," he said softly, walking away and leaving her with her thoughts.

Cynder awoke a few hours later in almost the same way she woke up that morning; the sun was much higher in the sky, now shining into her face through her window. She groaned and sat up, forgetting for a moment that her paws were injured. She reflexively winced, expecting there to be pain, but just as Spyro said, they just felt odd; like they were trying to 'wake up' after hours of sitting on them a certain way. At least they could hold her weight.

She swished her tail for a moment, slipping back into an old habit she developed while under Malefor's control. She moved her tail to and fro slowly, inspecting how each movement shifted the muscles underneath her scales. The dragoness brought her eyes to her tailblade, and gave a sigh. It was dull, again. Reaching Into her bedside drawer, she clumsily fished out an enchanted whetstone Terrador had given her when she arrived at the Dragon Temple. One of the forging dragons, Cynder wasn't given his name, was apparently able to enchant her whetstone in such a way that the metal that would normally flake off during sharpening is instead displaced evenly around the edge of the blade, meaning that Cynder's tailblade would no longer have to become slightly shorter when she sharpened it.

Cynder started to scrape her tail along the rectangular stone in slow, upward strokes. She had no idea how an enchantment like that would even work, nor how to place enchantments in the first place. ' _The dragons here are all very impressive. I'm glad I no longer have to fight them_.' Cynder thought idly, flipping her tailblade over to send it across the stone with a slow downstroke.

She let the shearing sound of metal on stone wash over her, expelling the rest of her thoughts from her mind. She kept at it for a good ten minutes, inspecting her tail closely after each stroke. Satisfied, she got up and put the whetstone away, internally cheering that she didn't have to clean up metal flakes anymore.

When she closed the drawer, she heard a soft knock on her door. Without looking, she reflexively called out. "Come on in!"

She was moving to jump back onto her bed when Ember slipped into her room, looking at the floor. Cynder's eyes widened and she tripped over her own hindlegs, giving a soft yelp as she missed the intended target of her soft bed, instead hitting the floor rather roughly. Ember winced as she fell, but didn't make a move to help her up.

"Okay, ow…" the black dragoness muttered as she flapped her wings to give herself enough lift to stand back up. She looked to Ember, who still hadn't said anything, but was now shuffling her own wings awkwardly, looking like she'd like to be anywhere but in the room with Cynder. "What is it, Ember? Have you come to taunt me about something again?" she asked with an annoyed sigh.

Ember shook her head slowly, giving a heavy sigh. "No, I…I want to apologize."

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

 _It's quite funny how chapter names can influence what direction the chapter (and in turn, the story) goes. For obvious reasons, Chapter 5 of the redux will be very different than the original's Chapter 5._

 _Hopefully Fanfiction actually keeps the bolding/underlining on this author's note. If it does, I'll be changing the Author's Notes on the other chapters to match this scheme._

 _Also found that Fanfiction actually has a "Horizontal Line" button in the Edit Document area. So, that's a thing. (When I did it in Word, it didn't keep the formatting)._


	5. Mending Bridges and Burning Ropes

Cynder shook her head violently, making the pink dragoness in her room back away in confusion. Surely she had hit her head when she fell; there's no way Ember was _apologizing_ to her. Not when she was the dragoness what would probably suggest killing her if Malefor were still alive.

"I-I'm sorry, come again?"

"I want to apologize to you," she repeated, speaking quite clearly; no more hesitation in her voice. She was still fidgeting nervously, but not as much as when she first entered the room.

Cynder gave the words a moment to sink in as she got onto her bed, curling her legs under her. "Uh huh.. Do forgive me if I don't take your apology at face value, Ember; you _have_ attempted to sabotage me on multiple occasions."

The pink dragoness sighed; she knew it wasn't going to be easy to apologize to her, but she had to do it. "I know, and I really want to apologize for that. I acted like naught but a spoiled brat what wasn't getting her way."

Cynder cocked an eyebrow, holding back a derisive chuckle. _That_ was the best way she could explain it? "Not that I accept your apology just yet, but I need to know… Why?"

The wince that Ember gave would have been visible from miles away. "Spyro… put things into perspective…"

"How so?"

"H-he mentioned Ignitus." Cynder's eyes widened, and a short gasp escaped her muzzle. "Asked me if I would really want to go against his judgement... I have a feeling that if I said 'yes', he wouldn't have hesitated to rip me apart." There were tears streaming down her face now; the realization that she had been hurting her friend with her selfish mannerisms finally taking hold.

Cynder gave a soft chuckle and hopped off her bed, stumbling slightly as she walked over to Ember. As she sat in front of the pink dragoness, Ember looked up, her eyes welling with fresh tears. "I'm so sorry… I didn't know that Ignitus did that…" Ember sniffled, looking back down at her paws.

Cynder couldn't help but lean forward, pulling the distraught dragoness into a hug. Ember made a soft squeaking sound, stiffening at the contact initially, but eventually relaxing against the black dragoness she had, until today, thought to be the enemy.

She allowed Ember to cry against her, letting the pink dragoness expel all her stress in a much more beneficial way to the both of them. When she finished, Ember wiped her face with the back of her paws, chuckling sheepishly. "Never thought I'd be crying in your arms," she sighed. "Was always too focused on the past."

Ember laughed with her. "Well, if you mean what you said, and I'd hate to assume you didn't, seeing as you just openly cried in front of 'the evil one', I accept your apology, Ember." Cynder was smiling at the pink dragoness, who almost jumped with joy. "Just promise me something, please?"

"What is it?"

"Can you stop bugging Spyro so much? It's been getting on his nerves something fierce."

Ember's cheeks flushed with blood, and she looked up at the ceiling, stammering slightly. "I-I, uh…actually only pestered him 'cause I knew it bothered you..."

Cynder's face met one of her paws, and she sighed in exasperation. "You really _were_ a spoiled dragoness, weren't you?"

Ember chuckled, shaking her head. "Have you _seen_ how he looks at you? I'd do anything for a dragon to look at me with that much affection."

The black dragoness raised an eyebrow as Ember started daydreaming, quite rudely shaking her out of it by slapping her gently with one of her wings. "Oi, Ember. You do have someone who looks at you like that, y'know."

Ember looked at her with her head cocked to the side, obviously confused. Cynder thumped her tail on her floor in exasperation, her face one again finding shelter behind her paws. "Who does Spyro keep sending you to when you're bugging him?" she asked, hoping to jog her memory.

"Oh," Ember intoned, bringing a paw up to her chin in what was probably a 'thinking pose'. "Ohhhh," she muttered, wings falling flat. "I've been really mean to Flame, haven't I?"

Cynder gave a soft chuckle, motioning her head toward the door. "Go on, Em. You did what you came here to do; time to do it again, don't you think?"

Ember nodded as she stood up, hugging Cynder again. "Thanks for not making fun of me while I cried.. It's been a few years since that happened."

She smiled at her new friend. "Well, I'd say it's been long overdue, wouldn't you?"

The pink dragoness nodded, walking towards the large ornate doors and opening one. "Talk to you later, Cynder?" she asked, a hint of hope in her voice. She left after Cynder nodded, a big smile on both of their muzzles.

-Asgard: Mount Storm; Daylight Automotive-

-23:39-

It hadn't taken long for things to hit the fan on Mount Storm. Shortly after the first shot took away part of his favorite jacket, Light was forced to duck for cover as scores of infantry units poured out of the Automotive building.

Light groaned in annoyance, jumping behind a cluster of fallen trees to avoid an RPG missile that had been fired at him. He stood up, quickly pinpointing the source of the explosive rocket, putting two shots into his chest, one flying off into the night. He looked to his AR with an irked frown. "I thought I set you to semi-auto, man," he muttered, quickly switching its firing mode again.

The gunfire all around him was driving him insane. He was sticking to the shadows, attempting to get into as little confrontations as possible, but Cauldur's men were still shooting, even without visual confirmation. Perhaps someone else was attacking? Light shook his head; questions could come later.

He continued running, only stopping to take care of the infantry units he encountered. He gave silent apologies after each one fell, but it didn't do justice; not in his eyes.

He vaulted over a ruined car, one that had been sitting there since the factory was abandoned, if the collection of rust had been any indicator, and found himself face to face with one of Cauldur's soldiers. Light gave a sheepish smile, kicking away from the car into a forward roll as the man turned to shoot him with his shotgun.

Light came out of the roll, quickly turning around and shooting the soldier in the right shoulder, shattering the bone instantly. He tried lifting the shotgun with his left arm and succeeded, only to have Light kick it away from him before kneeling down.

"Hi there," Light said nonchalantly, reaching out to open the soldier's helmet visor. "I'm sure you were having a fairly nice night until I shot you, weren't you?" The soldier nodded. "Yeah, sorry about that." Light leaned forward again, this time unbuckling the unfortunate man's hip holster and taking out the pistol that was inside.

"Glock Thirty, hmm? Dot forty-five ACP rounds, if I'm not mistaken." The soldier nodded again, confused as to what Light was getting at. The teen checked the gun over. "Smooth action, well adjusted sights. Full extended magazines... You've treated this gun well; does it have a name?" Another nod. "Ah, good. Mind telling me?"

"N-Nancy… It's n-named Nancy."

"Hmm, not the name I expected." A few stray shots landed nearby, forcing Light to quickly take stock of the situation again. He was still in the clear, so he returned his focus back to Nancy's owner. "Now, look. I'd rather not kill if I can avoid it, especially if it's with a man's prized gun. If you answer my questions, you come out relatively unscathed, and you'll keep Nancy. For each question I'm not satisfied with, I take a shot off. Got it?" He was answered with a very quick nod.

Light nodded back to him. "Glad we understand each other. I have two questions. One: Where is Cauldur at?"

The soldier pointed his left hand at a side entrance to the Automotive building. "He's in the basement…"

"Thank you. Question two," Light said, spinning the Glock on his middle finger. "Can I have this pistol?" This time, he was met with a firm shake of the soldier's head. Light shrugged, spinning the gun once more as a spark of electricity travelled along it, focusing on the firing mechanism.

"Thank you for your cooperation, friend," he said, groaning as he stood up from his crouched position. He turned and started to walk away, smirking as he heard a _click_ behind him. He turned his head to see the soldier staring at his pistol, which was pointed at Light. He squeezed the trigger twice more before Light continued walking. "Oh, by the way, you might need to replace Nancy's firing pin. Seems a little shot. Have a nice night!"

Taking his UMP in hand, he made a beeline for the door the soldier pointed out, but his path was slowed slightly when he was intervened by two guards. He jumped to the side, taking cover behind a tree as they fired at him. When they stopped, one of them giving orders to the other, he ran out from behind cover, sending four short bursts into the two. Another apology leaked from Light's lips.

When he got to the door, he braced himself and kicked the door inward. A well-timed explosion that rocked the building succeeded at hiding the noise, but also at throwing Light off balance, consequently making him fall off the guard-less stairway he had found himself on.

He hit the basement floor with an almost deafening _crunch_ , which was the sound of his left femur breaking. Light bit his tongue in an effort to silence himself, but it wasn't possible; his pain tolerance was high, but it wasn't _that_ high. It didn't help that someone was now taking pot-shots at him with a small caliber pistol, landing a shot in his left arm and another in his broken leg, hitting his femur and making the pain skyrocket for the second time in so many seconds.

Light yelled out in agony, bringing up his sidearm to spray in the general direction the shots were coming from. As luck would have it, one of the bullets clipped the frightened scientist that was shooting at him, the man's final shot hitting the roof.

Light groaned in pain, hobbling over to the desks and grabbing the first piece of metal he could find; a pair of scissors. Using a bit of friction, he increased the temperature of the scissors to an almost red-hot degree, then pressed the heated metal to the gun wounds on his arm and leg, cauterizing the wounds to stop the bleeding.

"Well, look who came crawling back," a voice behind him drawled. Light's instant reaction was to spin around and chuck the heated scissors at the familiar voice, but his left leg denied him that action. The scissors clattered a few feet away from him as Light grimaced in pain.

Cauldur chuckled at the feeble display, starting into a slow pace. "Now, I'm sure you've come here today to fulfil some sort of revenge prophecy, Light, but let me tell you… You're too late, old friend." Light glared up at the pale-faced man, nearly growling in rage. Of course, this didn't stop his speech. "You won't be succeeding in killing me just yet."

"And why is that?!" Light snapped, to which Cauldur chuckled at.

The tall man gave a dismissive sound. "Because space is a very fickle thing. Do you believe in parallel worlds, old friend?" Cauldur shook his head, chuckling yet again. That short laugh was starting to infuriate Light even more than he already was. "Wait, never mind that. It doesn't matter if you do or not; reality is that they exist. Each universe has a mirror, and ours is no exception. So, you won't get your revenge 'cause I'll be universes away, boy." The gaunt crime-lord stepped forward, easily blocking the punch that Light attempted to throw at him. "Goodbye, Light. It was nice knowing you these last few years of your life." With that, Cauldur brought his elbow down against Light's skull, knocking the teenager to the ground. "Good luck, and all that. It'll be quite a ride for you as this world rots," the older man said, fading out of Light's vision as he lost consciousness.

"Well done, pet. Now to destroy this world." These words were followed by a world-rending explosion of sound, blocking out anything Cauldur may have said in reply.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Here's where this story will greatly vary from the original. A lot of things in the next couple of chapters change drastically (especially later on, with the complete removal of one character.)**

 **That's one thing I'm making clear.** _ **Things WILL be removed if I feel they have no use in the story**_ **.** **Truth be told, I'm not even entirely sure the Carlos/Ignitus arc should still be in the fiction. I suppose I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.**

 **For the next chapter or so, I will be writing mostly from scratch, so they might take a wee bit longer to write than these previous five chapters.**

 **Also, for those of you that actually read these notes, there's a skewed Pathfinder reference in this chapter. See if'n you can find it.**


	6. Reminiscence

The only thing Light could comprehend at the moment was pain. Sharp, throbbing pain.

He knew someone was talking to him, but he couldn't tell who; the blow to the back of his head still had his ears ringing, and he hadn't bothered to open his eyes, for fear of any light exacerbating his pain further.

"Light, god dammit, wake up," a female voice called out from just above him. He was aware that he was being shaken now. "We need to get out of here, now!"

Light cracked his eyes open slowly, biting back the pain that his friend was causing with her jostling. "Natalie… stop shakin' me…"

"Not 'till you get up," she exclaimed, staring at him with a an angry slash annoyed slash terrified expression.

"Can't," he muttered, pushing himself into a sitting position. "Leg's broke." Natalie groaned in exasperation, and Light chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry. Kinda fell and landed wrong."

"Of course you did," she said tersely, holding her hand out. A soft blue aura extended from her hand towards his legs, seeming to be looking for the injury. "Oh, of course it was the femur. Naturally."

"No need to sound so annoyed, Nat," he groaned, feeling his friends telekinesis pull at his leg slightly.

She ignored him, her face screwed up in concentration. "This is gonna hurt. A lot," she said, moving one of her fingers. With that little action, Light's world became pain as his femur was readjusted.

Light couldn't help but let out a very loud spout of quite colorful language, silently praying that the pain would be enough for him to black out. He wasn't as lucky, of course.

Natalie winced, lifting Light up a few inches with her right hand, her blue telekinetic aura taking care to keep his leg steady, while her left made a sort of slow swiping motion, a more solid blue concave platform forming underneath him.

It took a couple of minutes for Light's breathing to return to normal, and he glared at Natalie. "I do hope you'll warn me next time you do that..."

"Well, here's to hoping I won't _have_ to," she retorted, standing up, the platform moving along with her. She smirked at Light's yelp of surprise, making sure that he couldn't see it. "Anyways, we need to get the hell out of here. There was a giant explosion in the air a few minutes ago."

Light nodded, looking around at the factory-turned-laboratory. There was no one else around; and judging from the relative silence around them, the firefight outside had stopped. "Let's get back home for now. I gotta splint my damn leg."

She started walking, her arm kept outstretched to keep ahold of the platform she had created. "You gonna be able to drive?" she asked, raising her eyebrow at him.

He gave her a thoughtful look. "Should be. Might need your help t'keep my leg steady, though."

She rolled her eyes, starting into a slow jog. "That won't be an issue. Just don't push yourself like you normally do."

Light chuckled, laying his head against the blue platform. "I never do."

"Sure, you don't." The sarcasm was almost tangible. She looked up to the sky as they reached Light's motorcycle, looking up at where the bomb had exploded. There were no signs that something had happened, but she knew otherwise. Something was off with the air now, as if it were slightly thicker.

She helped Light get onto his bike, making sure to not stress his leg any more than it already was. She got on after he was made comfortable, using her telekinesis to keep his leg steady as he took off down the gravel road back to the city.

It was nearly three in the morning when Light pulled into the garage. To his embarrassment, he had to ask Natalie to help him to his room. She did, but with no small amount of poking fun at the teen's expense. She was silent as she took care of his leg, administering the splint as if she'd done it a thousand times.

She gave his bed a light pat. "Right. Hopefully that heals soon." She glared at Light. "Don't do anything to exacerbate it, eh?"

"Exacerbate?" Light chuckled, shaking his head. "Since when do you use words like 'exacerbate'?"

"Since one of us has to be the brains," she retorted quickly. "You're the brawn, it seems, so that job's mine."

"Pfft, as if," Light muttered softly, then louder. "It's late, y'should get some rest."

"Will you be okay if I leave you?" Natalie asked, walking over to the window and opening it. She gave a little motion with her hands, another solidified blue aura forming between their houses.

"I should be alright. Jus' get some sleep, would you?"

She waved him off, climbing out of the window onto her platform. Turning around, she gave a little wave to Light, closed his window, and left.

Light sighed, his upper body flopping onto his bed. "Where the hell did we go wrong?" he asked himself, closing his eyes.

-Asgard: 2 ½ years earlier-

-Riven-

Riven was in a state of panic. A massive earthquake struck the town an hour ago, which had activated a fault line that hadn't had any activity for hundreds of years.

Now, there was a giant gorge in the middle of the city, and mayhem on the streets. Police were already overwhelmed, as the station was now at the bottom of a three-mile deep chasm, along with most of the officers.

Outside help had been called in, in the form of a semi-environmentalist group called Faro's Call. At almost quarter of a million strong, the group, led by a man named Cauldur Vendetta, was slowly pushing back the groups of rioters and malcontents while administering help to the injured.

The man himself was helping just as much as he was giving orders, if not more so. He and a few of his men had just finished rescuing a pair of teens from the wreckage of a house on the border of the gorge shortly before the land gave out.

The boy awoke first, shaking his head.

"Are you alright, kid?" Cauldur asked, the worry clearly evident in his voice. He was answered with a nod, the boy looking to his friend.

"Is… Is she alright?" he asked quietly. "When the house started shaking, I pushed her down and pulled the table over us."

Cauldur looked to his men, one of them giving him a nod. "Be glad you've got quick reflexes; she'll be alright." He stood up, holding out a hand to the teen. "What's your name, kid?"

"Light," he answered, taking Cauldur's hand and allowing himself to be lifted up. "What about yours?"

"Cauldur Vendetta, leader of Faro's Call," he stated, with no small amount of gloating. He chuckled as Light looked up to him with a raised eyebrow. "Sorry, couldn't help myself." He turned around, clapping his hands once. "In any case, when your girlfriend there comes to, what say you two help out a bit? You two are some of the luckier ones."

"She's not my girlfriend, and I'd like to think it wasn't luck, but good reflexes on both our parts," Light replied quietly. Cauldur turned back to him.

"Whatcha mean, kid?"

"Nat is a flyrokinetic. Just before the house started caving in, she put up a shield around us. It must've taken a lot out of her, though; she's never been too good with that ability."

Cauldur was even more interested now. "Oh, she has kinetic abilities? How exquisite."

Light looked at him as if he was crazy again. "We both do, though mine are much less helpful in a pinch."

Cauldur put his hand on Light's shoulder. "Follow me, kid. I wanna talk to you."

"But what abou-"

"Your friend will be taken to the medical tent. She'll be okay," Cauldur said, his gravelly voice calm and comforting.

Light allowed himself to be steered to the largest of eleven tents set up at the entrance to the city. It was surprisingly full of technology and people inside. "What is this?" he asked, looking around in awe.

"Faro's Call's mobile base-of-operations," Cauldur quickly replied, as if he had received the question thousands of times before. He led the teen to a small desk in one of the corners of the tent, taking a seat behind it and motioning for Light to sit in the one across from him.

He did, but it didn't stop him from looking around.

"I'll cut right to the chase, Light," Cauldur started, and the teen looked directly at him for the first time since entering the tent. "What are your abilities; yours and your friend's."

Light squinted his eyes at the man. "Is there any reason for me to tell you?"

Cauldur chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "I suppose not, though you've already told me of your girlfriend's ability. Besides, I thought I'd offer my help; you two have issues controlling your powers, right?"

Light looked down. "I do. Natalie's a natural with hers."

"I can help with that, Light. Faro's Call has people that can help you learn how to control your powers and use them to their maximum potential."

Light looked up at him skeptically. "Even naturally destructive powers, like fire and electricity?"

Cauldur nodded. "We have many talented pyrokinetics and electrokinetics."

Light mulled over the option for a few minutes before coming to a conclusion. "I'll join, but I don't want Nat to know."

"Why not?"

Light sighed and looked to the ground. "I just don't, okay?"

The older man chuckled and stood up, extending a hand over the desk. "Alright. She won't know."

Light looked up at him, standing up and taking his hand, shaking firmly. "Thank you, Cauldur."

-One year, three months later-

-Two months after Malefor's death-

-Daylight Automotive; 12:29 AM-

"Oi, Light! Wait up!" a voice called from behind him. Light turned around, smiling as his friend, Reinhardt, jogged up to him, panting softly. "Jesus, man… You deaf or somethin'?"

Reinhardt was an eighteen year old cryokineticist that Light had become great friends with during his time with Faro's Call. Though young, the man did have a fair few extra pounds on him, no doubt due to the amount of sweets he consumed.

Light chuckled at him. "What's up, Reinhardt? Usually you only run when there's donuts or something involved."

"Yeah, yeah. Fuck you too, man," Reinhardt muttered under his breath. "Remind me to freeze your toes next time I see you."

"You know damn well that your ice doesn't affect me, just as my fire does jack all to you."

"Yeah, I know," he sighed, waving it off. "Anyway, is there somethin' up with Cauldur? The missions the past few months have been getting a little less… helpful."

Light nodded. "Yeah, so I've noticed. He's been keeping to himself a lot more, too."

"He's starting to be a far cry from the self-proclaimed 'Hero of Riven', isn't he? You know, the bombastic, ever-present helpful asshole he used t'be?"

"He wasn't an asshole," Light said, instinctively defending the man who had turned his life around. What Reinhardt was saying was true, though. The previous few missions have been almost heinous. Theft of scientific equipment, gun cartels, general lawlessness. Nothing like what Faro's Call was when Light first joined. Back then, everybody was helpful; no one was any kind of selfish. These past few months, things have gone a bit downhill.

"I'll go talk to him, Rein," he said, mind off in thought, now. "See you at school, tomorrow."

Reinhardt replied, but Light didn't hear him. His mind was going through all the things that had been uncharacteristic of his friend, especially the seclusion. Cauldur was everything but a recluse.

He made his way to Cauldur's office, not hearing the voices coming from the room until he knocked on the door, the voices falling silent.

"Who is it?" Cauldur asked angrily. Another odd thing; he never got mad. Terse, yes, but never mad.

"It's Light. Can I come in?" Cauldur made a few hushed noises before opening the door, his hair looking messier than ever, his eyes sunken. "Sorry, was I, uh, interrupting something?"

Cauldur shook his head, then dragged Light into the room by his arm. " Actually, perfect timing, you have. You can be stealthy, right?" Light nodded, looking at the man warily. "Good. Meet me at the garage at twenty-one-hundred hours. No questions." He pushed the teen out of the room, slamming the door closed, leaving Light more confused than ever.

Light left his quarters later that night, still deep in thought as he made his way to the garage. Cauldur had been acting odd, much more so than he normally was. He was usually energetic and slightly eccentric, but now he kinda scared Light.

He sipped into the garage with almost a full three minutes to spare. Turning on the light, he sighed as he saw his yellow and blue racing motorcycle. Cauldur had taught him how to drive, and had even gifted his own motorcycle to Light.

The teen was jerked out of his thoughts by the door he had just entered coming open with a loud _bang_! Cauldur stepped through, not bothering to close the door behind him as he walked to his own vehicle, a black 1970 Mustang with a vivid blue jagged stripe on each side.

He got in the car, chuckling to himself as he started it, the muscle cars signature engine revving to life. He called over to Light, "You gonna ride with me or follow?"

Light answered by straddling his bike and turning the ignition, the low hum of its electric engine completely drowned out by the classic car. Cauldur reached up to his dashboard and tapped a button, the garage door opening slowly as two fog machines whirred and a fan into action, creating a somewhat atmospheric effect.

"Dammit, Cauldur, you've been watching too many old racing movies!" Light yelled at him, but he was drowned out by the loud rev of the engine. He glared at Cauldur and could see him laughing before he pulled out of the garage. Light followed, his motorcycle silent compared to the great beast his boss was in.

They drove for about an hour, following the back roads and unused service roads that the earthquake last year made useless. Cauldur pulled to the side, rolling down his window and motioning for Light to pull up to the side.

"What's goin' on?"

His boss reached out of the window, a small silenced pistol in his hand. "Take it and follow my lead; no questions. Got it?"

Light nodded, taking the pistol and giving it a quick routine check before stuffing it into his beltline. Cauldur rolled up his window, his engine roaring again as he continued driving. It took the better part of another hour for them to reach Riven, due to having to circumvent the newly formed gorge.

Cauldur slowed as they entered the city, his engine purring softly. Two streets, and a left, then another five streets, and two rights, and they were at their destination. Cauldur got out of his car, stopping long enough to grab his own pistol and two cloth masks.

Light was looking up at the house, certain it was familiar, though it could have just been the darkness of night messing with him. He caught the mask Cauldur tossed to him, watching his boss put it on.

"What is this, Cauldur? We look like two-bit thieves!"

"Shut up and put the mask on," Cauldur growled, pulling the slide back on his pistol. "There's a very important object in this house that Faro's Call _needs_ to further its goals. You will help requisition it, by giving me backup."

"So the solution is to steal it?" Light asked, baffled that his boss was suggesting such a thing.

"Make a few people mad now, save thousands, maybe millions, later," he answered simply, walking up to the door and fishing out a set of lockpicks from his back pocket. In under a minute, they were inside, Light having put his mask on as Cauldur worked.

The instant they crossed the threshold, the lights snapped on, a soft alarm echoing throughout the house. Cauldur swore under his breath and moved to the alarm box as if he'd walked this house a thousand times. The alarm stopped.

For a few moments, Light didn't move. Neither did Cauldur. He was still two steps from the box when the alarm shut off. The next thing Light knew, he was being forced to the ground, a deafening explosion of gunfire coming from the base of the stairs, stopping just as quickly as it started.

He looked up to Cauldur, who had tackled him to the floor. "Double barrel," he muttered softly. "I got it. You look for something that'd probably have a small cylindrical object." He gave Light a pat before getting off, pulling his pistol out from the back of his jeans.

Light stood up and began looking around, feeling more and more like the house was familiar as he easily navigated the lower floor. He reached the kitchen and looked around, his heart sinking as he saw a photo above the sink. He turned around, seeing Cauldur aim towards the stairs.

"Cauldur! Don't shoot!"

Light couldn't yell out fast enough, and Cauldur pulled the trigger, sending a burst of three rounds into the stairwell. A yell of pain followed, and then there was silence again. Cauldur walked up to the stairs, keeping his gun at the ready; Light was standing in the kitchen in shock. There were two blackened holes in the stairwell where two of the high explosive rounds hit. The third was embedded in the man who shot at them, his light blue pajamas slowly staining red.

"Continue looking, Light," Cauldur muttered, kicking away the shotgun. "I'm going upstairs."

Light couldn't reply. He knew who's house this was, and he knew the other two residents would be upstairs. Cauldur started walking up, nonchalantly aiming his gun at the woman who was about to start walking down the stairs. She let out a shriek, but didn't run away.

"I'm here for the transmitter; where is it?" he asked smoothly, his grip on the gun tightening.

"D-downstairs… in…in the s-silverware drawer," she stammered, her fear plainly evident.

Cauldur smiled at her, his thumb flicking a switch on the pistol. "Thank you," he said politely, just before pulling the trigger, sending an explosive round directly into the woman's head. He then turned around, walked down the stairs, and pushed past Light, quickly checking through all the drawers for what he was looking for. He let out a triumphant sound as he put a palm-sized cylinder into his jacket pocket, turning around and starting to leave the house.

"You coming, Light?" he asked, his demeanor seeming much brighter than it was before. "After all, this is a triumphant day for Faro's Call, now."

Light would call it anything but triumphant. He knew who's house this was; who Cauldur had just killed; who he would probably kill if she showed up. "Let's go," he said softly, his voice breaking. He walked out after Cauldur, getting on his motorcycle and speeding to the automotive factory before the older man even got his car started.

 **Author's Note:**

 **So, yeah, there you go. First chapter written completely from scratch, and over 3000 words. Sorry for the delay, some things came up. Hopefully, it's of quality, though I'll let you guys be the judge of that.**

 **I don't actually remember if there was any backstory on Natalie's parents in the original story, but in this one, they were scientists working on a method to jump through space.**

 **There will be a little more to this backstory subplot in chapter 8. Each chapter will be either human-based or dragon-based, until, of course, the two sides collide.**

 **Also, there's a bit more to Cauldur's personality, here. Not entirely unrelated to the song I linked in my profile.**


	7. Late Night Plans

-Vespera: Dragon Temple; Ember's Quarters-

-09:23-

Ember grumbled as the sunlight washed over her body, rolling off of her bed and landing with a thump on her floor. She clicked her tongue once idly, laying on the floor for a few moments before getting to her paws.

"Third time this week… Come on Ember," she said to herself, walking over to her mirror, spinning in little circles as she inspected her scales. They were looking a little dull for her liking. She hummed to herself softly; she'd be heading to the Waterfall later, to take a bath. Besides, it was necessary, as she was going on a date today!

She danced on her paws, squealing to herself. Yesterday went better than she ever thought it would have. Not only did Cynder accept her apology (and not make fun of her for blubbering like a fool), but after she apologized to Flame, he bucked up his courage and asked her out! Ember's answer was to give him a big kiss on the cheek, making the red dragon's cheeks flush an even deeper red.

Ember chuckle, as she remembered the big red dragon stumbling over his words, eventually getting them out in a single, almost incoherent breath. She had thought it so cute of him, but immediately said yes, despite fighting back her urge to giggle.

She sighed softly, turning around and walking to her window, resting her forepaws on the sill. Just like the day before, it was the beginning to a beautiful summer day. She hopped up onto the sill, then leapt forward, snapping her wings open and flapping a few times to gain altitude. From there, she held her wings out, settling into a slow glide above the Temple.

Already, a few of the older dragons were going about their business, paying the startlingly pink dragon no mind as she passed them slowly, even as she greeted them with a friendly wave.

With a slight scowl, she flapped again, this time redirecting her course to visit a door she knew every single contour of.

She slowed herself, coming to a soft landing in front of Spyro's quarters. Lifting up a forepaw to knock, she was startled when the purple dragon opened it, bumping into her as he walked out of his room.

"Ah!"

"Eh? Ember?"

The pink dragon looked up at him from her position on the ground, immediately noticing that his scales had more of a shine than normal. "Oh, h-heya, Spyro."

He extended a paw to her, helping her up. "You okay? Sorry, I didn't see you." Ember nodded. "Oh, good. I take it you've thought about what happened yesterday?"

She nodded again. "That's… actually why I'm here. I apologized to Cynder and Flame. I want to apologi-"

"Apology accepted," Spyro interjected, giving a soft smirk as Ember stumbled on her words.

"Eh-what?"

"Walk with me for a moment, please," he said, already starting to walk away. Ember skipped a few times to catch up.

"You said you apologized to Cynder and Flame, correct?" He was given a skeptical nod. "Care to tell me what happened?"

The pink dragoness looked to the ground as she walked. "Well… after you and I got done…talking, I went to Cynder intending to just apologize and leave, but…"

"But?"

She took a deep breath, releasing it in a great big sigh. "I broke down. I realized how much I hurt you and Cynder by doing what I was doing, and I broke down in Cynder's forelegs."

"I take it she didn't laugh?"

"What? Cynder laugh at someone else's misery?" Ember chuckled dryly. "Clearly you don't know her as nearly well as you let on."

Spyro waved a paw at her, chuckling lightly. "I was only making sure you weren't gonna falsify; you have been known to do it in the past."

She let out another sigh. "That was the old, stupidly vindictive Ember. You're talking to a new one, now."

Spyro gave her a playful shove. "That's good. It's nice to actually talk to you for once." She looked up at him and nodded happily. "By the way, you said you apologized to Flame? What happened there?"

Ember's cheeks flushed, and she looked to the ground. Spyro smiled brightly and stopped walking. "Did something happen?"

She stopped and nodded, opening her mouth to answer, but only letting out a squeak, to which Spyro chuckled at.

"Oh, please tell me he finally did what I think he did."

Ember only nodded again, not risking her voice to fail her in another embarrassing way.

This time, Spyro squealed, jumping up in victory. "Oh, that big lug finally did it!" He turned to Ember, seeing her blush deepening. "You said yes, didn't you?"

"H-he asked me on a d-date," she stammered, Spyro's sudden giddiness taking her by surprise.

He stopped jumping, his head cocked to the side in curiosity. "A date, huh?" he asked, chuckling softly. "I might have an idea, then."

Ember looked at him in confusion. "Whaddya mean?"

"Ah, nothing. You should probably get ready for your date, hmm," he chuckled, nudging her with her shoulder.

"Oh right!" She turned tail and started to run down the corridor. "See you later, Spyro! Say 'hi' to Cynder for me!"

"I will!" he called back, then turned toward the door they had been standing in front of. It was now open, a black dragoness standing there with a smirk on her face.

"What was this about a date?"

"Uhhh..." Spyro chuckled nervously. He swallowed once, fidgeting on his front paws; this was not going to plan. "Would, uh…d'you wanna, maybe, go…" he broke off, looking down at his paws.

"On a date with you?" Cynder giggled, making an obvious educated guess.

"Yes!" Spyro said with a little too much enthusiasm, startling the black dragoness. He cleared his throat. "I-I mean yeah, that."

Cynder giggled again, bumping him softly as she walked out of her room, her tail hooking on the door to pull it closed. "Time and place, loverboy?"

"Top of the Waterfall, an hour before sundown," his answer was quick and concise, a complete reversal of his previous attitude.

"Well, that was a quick answer. Been rehearsing that bit, too?"

Spyro scowled at her, but his reddened cheeks betrayed any anger he might have had. Cynder let out a loud laugh, flapping into the air. "Off with you, O' Saviour. I must ready myself," she said in a faux regal accent before flying off.

"I hope you're right about this thing, Flame…" Spyro said to himself, shaking his head to clear the redness from his cheeks.

-12:34-

-Dragon Temple Mess Hall-

Spyro flew into Mess, landing a few body lengths away from the doorway. Funnily enough, Flame got there a few seconds after him, tapping the purple dragon with a wing as he landed.

"Hey, Spyro. How'd it go with Cynder this morning?" he asked, giving Spyro a wink, as if he already knew the answer.

"Pretty well, I think. She did that whole fake pompous voice she does when she's being silly, but I think it went well," The purple dragon chuckled, moving up as the line moved. Despite what one would think, life at the dragon Temple was generally pretty lax, with the exception of mealtimes. And mealtimes were about as calm as a high-school cafeteria.

Flame moved up along with him. "So, you told her where, right?" He took one of the trays Spyro offered him, letting it rest on one of his wings.

"Waterfall, hour before sundown," Spyro muttered distractedly, eyeing the food in front of him before asking for his usual, three thick chunks of venison.

Flame nodded, both at Spyro's answer and at the drake on Mess duty asking if he'd like his regular meal of rat kebabs. With his unused wing, he tapped Spyro on the side, then pointed to an empty table that was mostly out of the way. They made their way to it, dodging the occasional drakes that were running around.

As soon as they sat down, Spyro took a deep breath, exhaling tongues of flame over the meat on his tray. Flame counted out the seconds, as he always did. Spyro stopped, inspecting his handiwork before turning to Flame.

"Four point three," he said idly, picking up one of his kebabs and taking a great bite out of it.

"Hmm, getting better. Pretty soon, I'll be able to flash-fry them." He smirked, looking to his big red friend. "You can already do that, can't you, Flame?"

Flame made it a point to look away, mumbling something past the rat in his mouth. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a black streak coming towards them and smiled to himself.

"What was that, buddy?" Spyro said, poking his friend in the belly with a wingtip.

Letting out a soft chuckle, Flame swallowed his food. "I said… You might want to watch out for your deer." The black streak vanished into a mist, and Flame turned his attention to Spyro's tray.

"What do y- oh, crud!" He started, exclaiming in surprise when he looked to his tray to find Cynder an inch in front of him, one of his venison roasts in her muzzle. There were small wisps of Shadow floating off her body, dissipating completely when she moved to sit down.

"You know, it's almost like you expect me to take your food now. You used to only get two," she chuckled, taking a bite, a shiver visibly running up her spine before she swallowed it. "Oh, by the divines, that's always perfect."

Flame had a big smile on his face as he looked to Spyro, who's cheeks had gotten flushed. They seemed to be doing that a lot around the black dragoness. He leaned close to the purple dragon. "Looks like you're roasting the meat tonight, eh?" he suggested in a low voice. Spyro just nodded, resolutely digging into his own meal so he didn't have to respond.

Ember came to the table in a much less flashy fashion; she just walked up and sat down. Flame pushed his tray to her, and she gave him a small word of thanks as she took one of the kebabs.

They ate in relative silence, which wasn't unusual for them, though now it wasn't made awkward by Ember making eyes at Spyro. Now she was doing it to Flame, just as Cynder was doing the same to Spyro, though he was too absorbed in his food to notice.

Or so she thought. Spyro was only so absorbed in his food because he was sure that if his eyes met Cynder's, he'd end up blushing like a drake asking his first love to a date (which, in all reality, he had done a few hours earlier).

Ember finished first and spoke up. "Flame, you never told me… Where are we having this date?"

Each other dragon at the table had a different response to the sudden question. Flame let out a cough, trying to pass it off as a chuckle, Cynder looked at both of them curiously with one paw under her chin, and Spyro finally looked up from his venison, an anxious smirk on his face.

"Oh, you're going on a date, too?" Cynder asked, a soft smile on her face. She turned to Flame, giving him a little jab under the wing. "Where to, stud?"

Flame sighed, putting his muzzle into his paws as both dragoness' looked at him expectantly. None of them could see it, but it was fairly evident by his body language that he was blushing brightly. "T-to the Waterfall."

Cynder gave a soft sigh, looking over to Spyro, who was eating the last of his meat. "I take it you two planned this out?" she asked, her lips curled into a smile. Spyro looked to her, then to the side, bashfully scratching his chin with a claw.

"Well… maybe." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay, yeah, we planned the double date last night. The waterfall was the best location, especially considering tonight's events."

The two females smirked, Ember taking the last bit of Flame's final kebab. He hadn't objected, instead just watched her take it with a smile on his face. "So.. With our plans all exposed and such, what are you two ladies gonna do about them?" he asked, his soft smile turning to a smirk as well.

Ember and Cynder looked to each other for a few moments before nodding and standing up. "Go along with them, of course," they said in unison before taking flight, leaving the two males dumbstruck for a moment.

"Flame, my friend… I do believe tonight is going to be a night to remember."

 **Author's Note:**

 **Okay… I know that it's been nearly a year since the last chapter; but that is one-hundred percent my fault. This chapter had been giving me issues each time I tried to continue, but it turns out that I was attempting to do too much with the previous chapter name.**

 **It's been a long wait; and I am extremely thankful for those of you that waited patiently for this chapter; even if it's not the best.**

 **Next chapter will follow the predetermined pattern, and will be in the human realm, Asgard.**


	8. This Is Riven!

Thunder split the sky, causing Light to bolt upright. The motion caused him to spin, forcing him to hold his head in his palms as he rubbed his eyes.

He slowly looked around the room, as another loud clap resounded. With a heavy sigh he shifted to the end of his bed to stand up.

He stood up with a wince, immediately shifting most of his weight to his good leg as he opened the window. Another clap of thunder roared at him, the glass shaking in front of him.

The clouds outside were thick and black, hung low by the weight of the impending rainstorm soon to hit the city.

Light sighed, grunting in pain as his leg twitched, falling back onto the bed. The news had neglected to mention such a severe storm to hit the city… Or maybe it had; he had never really payed attention to it much anyways, unless it spoke of Cauldur.

He gave another sigh as he tried to push his thoughts away from the man; he knew he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep otherwise.

He laid his head back on his pillow, closing his eyes. His leg ached and throbbed, but that could be overlooked as long as nothing else bothered him…

No sooner had he thought the words that the sky finally gave way to the weight of the fluids they bore, dumping them in an unceremonious downpour. Rain splattered atop the roof, a steady drumbeat that served to only make Light groan in frustration.

He had left the window open, and, much to his chagrin, rain was blowing in. The last thing he wanted to do was get up again, but he also didn't want to have to deal with a wet floor in the morning.

"Fuck!" He groaned to himself, slowly sitting back up as he braced himself to stand again. Why did mother nature decide now would be a good time to plop down a storm. Couldn't she just leave him in peace for a while?

With a growl he stood, hobbling over to his open window, reaching up to give it a hard slam shut. That was, until a soft bluish glow caught his attention…

"What the…?" He reached his hand out, letting a few of the drops land on his palm, the liquid saturated with some kind of glowing blue substance that seemed to swirl about. It tingled to the touch, like that feeling when a numb limb is finally stretched as blood flow returns to it.

"Odd…" Light again mused out loud as he wiped his hand dry. A thin residue lingered on his skin, him grumbling. What kind of rain was this?

The sound of car tires screeching snapped him back to attention, a familiar sedan coming to an abrupt halt in the driveway next door. The car belonged to Natalie's caretaker, Tim.

Light looked on in slight worry and confusion. Tim was a quiet and nice guy, and one of the few people Light would trust to take care of Natalie. He always drove under the speed limit, and impossibly careful. To see him come barreling into the neighborhood like that, nearly taking out the garage door as he came to a sudden stop… It bothered Light.

The front door of the sedan was thrown open rather unceremoniously, Tim swearing as he stepped out. Light didn't even think the man knew what a swear was, hearing it seemed beyond alien. He was in shock, only able to watch as Tim went to the front door. He fumbled with his keys for a moment, swearing louder when he dropped them.

Light was transfixed, seeing a new side to the man he thought he trusted. He was going to have to have a serious talk with Tim and see if there was anything else drastic the older man was hiding.

Tim finally got the key in the door, flinging it open with a crash. The light in Natalie's room flicked on.

"Tim?" She softly spoke, him grumbling something under the sound of the rain as he thudded inside.

"Tim, is that you?" She called a little louder. Crashes echoed through the house, putting Light on edge. Natalie had left the window facing Light's room open, but the curtain closed. Light could see her silhouette come into view.

"Tim? You look, horrible, what's wron-" Natalie was cut of by a snarl, a shadowy blur leaping across the curtain, her giving a scream.

"LIGHT!"

"NATALIE!" Light screamed back. Something crashed from within Natalie's room, tearing the curtain off the window.

Tim had Natalie in a headlock, a short knife at her throat. Light was immobile for a moment as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing.

"Light!" Natalie reached out for him as she struggled against the older man. The sight of the panic in her eyes stirred him into action, him reaching out for her.

Tim tried to pick her up, the knife glinting as Natalie struggled to keep it away from her exposed throat. She reached out for Light, squirming and kicking Tim, even throwing an elbow into his side. Tim seemed unphased, and only focused on the knife he kept trying to shove into her neck.

Fire boiled in Light's veins, rising up through his body. He open his palm to let it spill out, outstretching his arm outside. Nothing came forth, only a twinge of numbness along his arm.

Natalie shrieked, Tim suddenly going flying backwards. There was a series of heavy crashes as his heavy body went tumbling down the stairs. Light didn't need to go and check, he knew the man was dead.

"Natalie!" He called out for her. She looked at him, a bewildered and confused expression on her face.

"L-light…?" Her voice was soft, barely audible over the rain. Light noticed a line of crimson along the hem of neckline.

"You're bleeding… Can you bridge over? My leg won't cooperate with me right now." She nodded slowly, starting to climb out of her window shakily. The air between the houses seemed to shimmer and coalesce, marking the area she was focused on. Light hopped up onto his window sill, reaching out for her.

"Come on, Nat."  
"L-light, what-"  
"Just don't. Get over here."

She started to crawl across, the heavy downpour soaking her in mere seconds. He could see her eyes starting to glaze over as she shivered. He knew she wasn't going to make it the whole way, he had seen this look in her eyes before, long ago when she was first learning to control her powers. Sometimes the strain was too much for her and she would collapse.

"Just a little further Natalie.." He leaned out, stretching as far as he could. She reached for him, the bridge under her starting to flicker.

"Just… A little further!" He grunted as he tried to grab her hand. She was so close, but ready to give out at any second.

She collapsed, the air under her returning to normal as she fell. Light felt his stomach dart up his throat, leaping from the window after her.

His whole body cried out in protest, him snagging the ledge with one hand as he grabbed her arm with the other. The window frame popped threateningly as the both of them came to a rather jarring stop.

"Gah! N-Nat, are you okay?!" His whole arm ached as he slowly pulled himself up. Natalie was silent, completely limp in his grasp. Her unresponsiveness sparked fear in Light. Had she been hurt?!

He finally managed to lever himself up back into his room, slowly pulling Natalie up. She was shivering quite violently, and a dark splotch of red staining the neckline of her shirt worried Light. He sat her down on the end of his bed, wrapping her up in his blanket as he went for his medical kit out of his bags.

"Not much in the way of painkillers…" He grabbed a thick pad of absorbent gauze, pressing it firmly against the blood stain. Her hand came up to rest on his.

"Natalie..?"

She sobbed. Light pulled her head tight against his chest, feeling her tears stain his shirt as she started to cry.

He let her stay that way, not moving except to rest a hand on top of her head to hold her close. He didn't know how long they stayed there, but her sobs eventually subsided. He kept her there, holding her until he felt her breathing steady and slow.

"Nat…?" He asked softly. There was no reply.

He tilted her head back slowly. She had fallen asleep. He smiled lightly. She would be okay, even if it took some time.

"Sleep well, Nat." He laid her down in his bed slowly, tucking the blanket around her. A quick trip to the hall closet provided him with his own pillow and blanket as he moved back downstairs.

With a heavy sigh he crashed on the couch, stretching out as sleep quickly came to him.

The rain pattered on, the pain in his leg forgotten as he snored.

 _((Co-author's Note: Weeeeeell, that took too long. Sorry about that guys. A quick introduction to myself is in order. For lack of a better name, I'm Moonmark, a close personal friend of Clandestine's. It was my idea originally to rewrite this fic nearly five years ago, and it's taken this much time for me to get off my lazy bum and actually put some work in on it… It's been quite a long time since I wrote anything, so it'll be a while before I shake off the rust, but I'll be helping clandestine write this now… Expect to see bits and pieces from me whenever, it just depends on which one of us does it… I'm sure he'll have his own note to add to this, but for now I'll leave you all with what you see here, and the request that, if you have any to give, constructive criticism is always welcome. Chapter 9 will be coming to you much sooner, and contains a little date night drama in the Vespera dimension. I hope you all enjoyed, and can't wait to be coming back again soon!))_


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